OXFORD, Mississippi -- He's no Jared Lorenzen, but Ole Miss quarterback Jeremy Liggins is certainly garnering the comparisons. The truth is, there aren't many quarterbacks out there with their kind of... build.

Liggins, a former LSU signee, participated in quarterback drills during the first week of football practice in Oxford this week. He is currently listed on the official roster at 6-foot-3, 296 pounds.

"He's a tremendous athlete ... can throw the ball 70, 75 yards," Freeze told CBS Sports. "He's gotten a bit out of shape ... but he's fighting to get himself down and has already lost 12 pounds. We're real anxious to get to spring and try him out at both at the tight end spot and at quarterback."

Lorenzen, who weighed 260 pounds when he played at Kentucky from 2000-2003, made headlines earlier this year when video surfaced of the current 320-pounder slinging the pigskin for the Northern Kentucky River Monsters.

Liggins played both quarterback and defensive end at NEMCC last season. As a signal-caller for the Tigers, he passed for 441 yards and six touchdowns in four games. As a defensive end in seven games, he tallied 14 total tackles.

Freeze needs to replace dual-threat Barry Brunetti, who served his 2013 senior season as the backup quarterback to Bo Wallace. Former Florence quarterback Kendrick Doss is in the mix along with redshirt freshmen DeVante Kincade and Ryan Buchanan.

"I would say no one is ahead of the pack," Freeze said Tuesday night. "Based on last year, there were some things that DeVante does naturally better than Ryan, and there are some things that Ryan does naturally better than him, and we didn't have the other two here."

Wherever Liggins lines up for the Rebels, the expectations will likely by high. The three-star prospect is ranked as the nation's No. 1 junior college athlete by 247Sports. Check out his junior college highlights below and watch him throw with the other Ole Miss quarterbacks (wearing No. 15) at Scout.com.